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Preparing taxes and filing tax returns can be an overwhelming experience. Whether you are running a business or a salaried professional, your priority should be to avoid any mistakes when filing the tax return. Since any error or omissions can lead to tax fraud, tax law firm Virginia Beach recommends hiring a professional tax specialist.

Tax fraud is a serious federal offense and can land one behind bars. Internal Revenue Service keeps an eye on every individual taxpayer and business. If they detect any discrepancies in the income and tax returns, they will take legal actions against the perpetrator. Committing a tax fraud can result in civil and criminal lawsuits. One can either get fined or penalized according to the fraud committed.

In this blog, we will look into what Tax Fraud is and what its consequences are.

Understanding Tax Fraud

When an individual, company, or business uses any method to evade the government’s taxes intentionally, it’s considered tax fraud. Such strategies include misrepresentation of the income, under-declaring profits, hiding income, or overstating tax deductions. Tax fraud is different from tax avoidance as in the latter case; one makes the lawful use of tax code to minimize the tax liabilities.

However, simple mistakes or unintentional omission of income is not considered tax fraud. To be considered civilly or criminally liable, the taxpayer must have intentionally defrauded the IRS. Establishing direct intent to defraud the IRS is often challenging since finding evidence is not easy. IRS and their investigators search for badges of fraud to determine whether the taxpayer has intentionally evaded the tax liabilities.

There are times when government officials misinterpret the smallest mistakes as tax fraud. Thus, if you or someone you know is facing tax fraud charges, you must hire an sales tax Virginia Beach professional.

Badges of fraud include the following things:

Understating the income
Stating Improper or fictitious tax deductions
Irregularities in accounting
Actions that determine intentions to evade taxes
History of under-reporting of income
Hiding assets
Discrepancies in records
Failing to cooperate with IRS examiner
Not filing tax returns
Cash dealings

Individuals, companies, and corporations facing tax fraud charges can be penalized for either civil or criminal offenses. A taxpayer may be subjected to both criminal and civil investigation. Such a situation is referred to as parallel investigation.

Civil IRS Investigations of Tax Fraud

The IRS will set up a civil investigation on a taxpayer if the facts of the case indicate fraud has been committed. To impose civil penalties, the IRS must have convincing evidence to prove that the taxpayer has engaged in tax fraud.

Criminal IRS Investigations of Tax Fraud

The tax fraud case is passed on to the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division when the tax matter escalates into potential criminal misconduct. The Criminal Investigation Division of IRS is tasked to investigate alleged taxpayers who have violated IRS code and Bank Secrecy Act.

The auditor revenue officer who believes that an individual has committed tax fraud initiates the criminal IRS investigation.…

Be it at home or in a long-term nursing institution, America’s seniors are increasingly vulnerable to harassment and exploitation due to the pandemic’s social isolation norms. The elderly who follow stay-at-home policies are cut off from systems that might help them, such as health personnel, congregations, relatives, and senior centers. The high prevalence of coronavirus fatalities among Americans aged 70 and up raises their anxiety and their reliance on others who could try to exploit them. Unfortunately, most of these perpetrators are relatives, such as a grownup child or spouse, followed by caretakers or facility personnel. No doubt, the queries for elder law attorneys Virginia Beach has gone up during the pandemic.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), physical, psychological, mental, sexual, neglect, and financial abuse are the four most prevalent forms of elder abuse, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Many cases of elder abuse, mistreatment, and manipulation go unreported, mainly when people are socially isolated. Although the number of calls alleging elder abuse is fewer than typical, elder abuse has not decreased. Many reports of suspected symptoms of abuse to Lifespan originate from home care organizations, healthcare providers, or health institutes.

The surveillance feature is no longer accessible since many elderly Americans are avoiding encounters with medical providers. Consequently, relatives of the seniors in long-term care institutions are no longer permitted immediate access to inquire about their family members’ well-being.

This is a nationwide problem, not just in New York. During the coronavirus epidemic, the number of reports of elder abuse is dropping across the country. Although the number of instances is decreasing, the amount of assistance required by our senior citizens is increasing.

When it comes to the gap between case reports and senior needs, some elder attorney believe that the epidemic has made it harder for people to report elder abuse and seek aid.

Similar patterns are being seen by other senior support groups, such as the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life (NCALL). According to NCALL, perpetrators are misinforming individuals by threatening them with the virus and isolating them. Isolated seniors are at risk of being contacted by a caregiver who has been infected with the coronavirus or being admitted to a nursing facility with abnormally high COVID-19 fatality rates.

It is also common for a caregiver to promise to keep a senior safe if they hand up checks or other valuables during this epidemic. If the elderly reside with an abuser, the condition can quickly deteriorate because the abuser might threaten or manipulate the senior, who lacks the courage to seek outside assistance in his or her solitude. The coronavirus outbreak, which is having a profoundly huge impact on older people’s mental health, renders them more susceptible to desertion, mistreatment, economic, psychological, sexual, and physical assault.

The growing reliance of the elderly on their caregivers at home and employees in long-term healthcare settings may encourage abusers to target them. Many elderly are approached because they have savings, recurring monthly income from securities, or Benefit Payments. Many elderly would hand up their money out of desperation for their safety and health, believing it will be the key to their longevity. Scammers have also been reported providing bogus or fictitious free home test strips or fake treatments, acting as fake organizations, or playing on other disease anxieties to get personal details or money.…

Everything one should know about Virginia Federal Tax Fraud

How is COVID-19 Pandemic Directly Linked to Increase Elder Abuse Cases?